


Inside, What A Wonderful Caricature Of Intimacy

by Lilsciencequeen



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: AS WAS FITZSIMMONS, Alternate Reality, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, BECAUSE LETS ME HONEST, Bittersweet, Bus Kids - Freeform, Drama, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Female Friendship, Female-Centric, Fluff and Angst, Framework, Gen, Happy Ending, POV Female Character, Swearing, THAT WAS ALWAYS GOING TO HAPPEN, To prevent spoilers, more tags to be added as things progress, post 4x15
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-09-26 13:14:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9898718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilsciencequeen/pseuds/Lilsciencequeen
Summary: When Daisy wakes up in the Framework, she wakes up in a world that shouldn't exist, in a world that is a nightmare vision of her own. And she also wakes up alone. She knows bringing down the Framework and saving her friends, her family is going to be difficult but is it something that she will be battling alone? Or will she find strength in those who she thought that she lost?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Should I have started another multi chapter fic? No.  
> Am I going to survive this hiatus? ...  
> Do I have a lot of projects to do and close deadlines? Maybe.
> 
> But here we are again, I will be adding more tags as this progresses but I already know part of the ending, and it will be one some will like. So there's that. And this is not tagged Daisy/Ward as I don't ship that and this is not something that I want in this fic to become endgame. So if you disagree with that, pleases feel free to skip this one.
> 
> Many thanks for checking out, hope you enjoy this. Title from Build God, Then We'll Talk (Yes, I'm addicted to a Fever at the minute. It's my album of the week) by Panic! At The Disco. Thanks for checking out, hope you enjoy.

Whatever world that this was, it wasn’t a world that Daisy wanted to live in.

Not with Ward alive.

Not with Hydra in charge.

She had felt physically ill when she had walked into the kitchen to find him making breakfast that smile on his face.

“Skye,” he greeted, turning from the oven. “Are you okay?” he asked, voice laced with concern as soon as he saw her paler than usual complexion.

Daisy frowned. “No. No…” She trailed off. This wasn’t her world. Ward wasn’t here. Not really. This was just some messed up reality that had been created by AIDA. It wasn’t real, not really. She wasn’t going to let herself get too emotionally invested, not in this world. She was going to find Jemma and save her teammates. Find Jemma and save her teammates. Find Jemma…

“Do you know Jemma Simmons?” she asked, knowing that this may be a stupid question but asking it all the same. She wasn’t even sure if they had been on the team in this world, so finding out as much as she could was her first step of action.

Ward frowned. “The biochemist?”

Daisy nodded, knowing that Ward was probably wondering what had gotten into his girlfriend. “Yeah, her.”

“She’s dead.”

Daisy felt the world drop out from her. “Dead…”

“Are you sure you’re okay Skye?”

Daisy nodded. “Yeah, yeah I am. Just… how… when?”

Ward shrugged. “Over three years ago, it was before we overthrew S.H.I.E.L.D. Some virus killed her, over the Atlantic. Threw herself from the plane. Her body..." he shook his head "It was found but it wasn't... It wasn't pretty .”

Daisy nodded, trying to fight back the tears. It was obvious in this universe that Hydra or not, Ward never saved her. She hadn’t been there either. Heck, they didn’t even know her.

“Why the interest?” Ward asked, knocking her out of her thoughts. “You’ve never mentioned her before.”

“I was just thinking,” Daisy said, lying on the spot. “I went to one of her talks, when she was giving them… in college. I must have dreamt about her or something…”

Ward frowned, pushing the frying pan of the ring so as the bacon didn’t burn. “I never knew you were interested in biochemistry.”

Daisy gave a smug smile. “There’s many things that you don’t know about me Grant.”

Grant raised one shoulder, as if to agree with her. “I suppose that’s true.”

Daisy gave him a sickly-sweet smile. “If you don’t mind, tell May I’m not going in, not today anyway.”

“You can’t do that, Skye.” Ward took a step forward, taking her hands in his own and it took all of Daisy’s strength not to know up there and then, and even more strength not to pull away. She had to keep up the illusion that she was Skye, not Daisy.

“Why?” she asked.

Ward let out a sigh, guiding her to the table and helping her sit down on the chair. He knelt in front of her. “May… you know what she’s like, she doesn’t like us taking time off.”

Daisy rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well tell her I am. I’m heading back to bed, and if she wants me to throw up down the corridor, she can clean it herself.”

Ward’s smile returned here. “That’s the Skye I know and love. See you later, and feel better soon?”

Daisy nodded, heading back to the bedroom but Ward’s voice stopped her. “I love you.”

She stood in the doorway for a moment, then spun around. “I love you too.”

***

Once Ward was gone, Daisy got out of the bed, no longer pretending to be asleep. She reached for her laptop, turning it on and opening a secure web browser.

She searched for Jemma’s name.

And what Ward said, what he had told her.

It was true. In this universe, Jemma… she was dead.

Daisy immediately started to panic. What did that mean for Jemma? Was she even able to access the Framework? Would it have killed her upon entering?

Using the back of hand, she wiped the tears away. She had to rescue her team, save them. She had to do this for Jemma.

And speaking of whom, it looked as though her life here in the Framework was completely different. She had very little friends it seemed, but she had made a massive impact on the changing the world.

And she didn’t seem to know Fitz in this reality.

There was no mention of him at all.

So that was who she looked up next. Leopold Fitz.

And what Daisy saw, it was the most Un-Fitz thing ever. It would have been hilarious had they not been stuck in the situation that they were in and had she not found out that her best friend, the woman who she would class as a sister and who had already been through so much was dead in this world, and maybe in the real world.

Taking a moment to compose herself, she reached for her phone, and typed in the number that she may have acquired in a way that was not entirely legal.

“ _Hello?_ ” came a voice from down the other end. “ _Who is this? How did you get my number?”_

“Leopold Fitz?”

“ _Yeah, who’s asking?”_

Daisy paused, thinking of a name before settling on her own. It wasn’t one that was known in this world so it was safe enough to use it. “Daisy Johnson. With _Science Weekly._ I’m doing… I’m doing a piece on Dr. Jemma Simmons. I’m wondering, I’m wondering if you knew anything about her.”

There was a laugh down the other end. “ _Why would I? She worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra. Or whoever they are now.”_

“I though you would have worked with her or known something about her.”

“ _I’ve heard her name, everyone has. But I’ve never worked with her. I’ve never even met her. If you want a quote or something, just say she was an inspiration or some bullshit. I don’t really care that much. And if you contact this number again, you can start thinking of a lawyer to bail you out of just how much shit I can land you in_.” And with that he hung up.

Daisy frowned, throwing the phone down. Jemma was dead and Fitz…

Fitz was just like Tony Stark.

No, Fitz was _exactly_ like Tony Stark except younger and Scottish.

But just as arrogant.

Just as cocky.

Taking a shaking breath, Daisy ran her hands through her hair. She couldn’t do this, not alone, not really. She had no powers in this reality, she was alone. There was no one to help her.

So she cried. She cried and let out her emotions. Maybe if she did that for long enough, maybe something would come to her. Maybe she would be able to figure out what to do then, after she let out the emotions.

After a while, her phone rang, an unknown number flashing on the screen.

She frowned at it, the person ringing calling once again once it went to voicemail. They seemed adamant that she answer the call. Sighing and cursing under her breath, she reached for it.

“Hello? She asked, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice in case it was someone in Hydra, someone who could be dangerous.

“ _Daisy…”_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This gets a bit weird in the middle... But thanks for all the support for the first chapter, I hope you enjoy this one.

“ _Daisy…”_

Daisy let out a breath of relief when she heard that voice down the phone. “Jemma… you… you’re okay.”

“ _I think_ …” Jemma started, her voice shaking. She seemed panicked, confused and Daisy couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. This whole world was one massive confusing shit storm, and after all the shit Jemma had suffered, she had every right to be feeling how she was right now. “ _I think I was dead Daisy.”_

 _Ahhh,_ Daisy thought. _Fuck._

“ _Daisy… I’m… I’m scared.”_

“Where are you?” she asked her friend, climbing out of bed and throwing on a jacket and throwing everything she deemed necessary into a rucksack.

“ _Sheffield. Just… just outside it. I’m in a café. It’s… it’s called…”_ There as a rustling on the other end off the line, as if Jemma were reaching for something. “ _I’m in The Lil Pizza Shop.”_

“Address?” Daisy asked, jotting it down. “Just… just stay put Jemma. I’ll be there in a number of hours. I’ll get the first flight I can from D.C.”

A laugh from Jemma gave Daisy pause. “ _Daisy, I can’t stay here while you travel in from D.C. That’s going to take hours. I’ll…I’m going to find hotel, a B &B, an abandoned house… something, anything to clean up, and let me know when you’re here. Then we can meet somewhere, okay?_”

Daisy couldn’t deny the point that Jemma was making. She couldn’t stay in the café for hours on end. “Yeah, yeah sure. I’ll explain everything when I’m there okay?”

“ _Okay._ ”

“And Jemma?”

_“Yeah?”_

“Stay safe.”

***

It was dark once she left the café. They had been kind enough to give her a scone and a cup of tea for nothing. And judging from the state of her once she had walked in, she wasn’t surprised at that. She was wearing a dress that was once white but had faded to a dull grey, a hoodie thrown over it that she had stolen from some shop (she wasn’t paying much attention to what shop, she just wanted something warm).

And she was covered in dirt.

Given her morning, which had been extremely unusual to say the least, the dirt came as no surprise.

Shivering, she hugged her arms around her body, trying to preserve what warmth she had. It was dark out as she walked the streets that she knew so well but weren’t familiar at all.

She had no idea how she was even going to get that hotel room she had said to Daisy about. She had no money on her. Heck, the phone she had at the moment was one that she had pickpocketed. To be honest, everything she had on her (except her dress) had been stolen. She had had shoes, but they were in no way practical, tiny pumps that were flimsy and had fallen off more times than she could have counted after she had made her way from the graveyard earlier that day.

Because she had been dead.

Well, the Framework version of Jemma had been.

Waking up in a coffin was not something that Jemma had been expecting. It had been so very far from what she had been expecting but eventually she had managed to crawl her way out of the ground, tears streaming down her face and her breath shaky.

But she had got out, and she had contacted Daisy who was coming to find her.

And together they were going to save their teammates.

Together they were going to destroy this hell that had been created.

***

In the end, she hadn’t been able to find anywhere, most places having closed. So she spent the rest of the time wondering the streets, keeping to the shadows and her face hidden. If she had been dead in this reality, she couldn’t allow herself to be seen.

She had no idea what this world was like.

Who was ruling it.

Who was in charge.

Because judging from what she had experienced so far, it was so unlike the world she had come from. She couldn’t even look up anything on the phone. It only had limited charge. And she needed it for when Daisy was coming, which was still several hours away.

So she continued wandering the streets, occasionally taking newspapers from bins, trying to catch up on what this world was really like.

But mainly she wandered.

***

When Daisy managed to find Jemma the next day, the first thing she did was pull her friend into an extremely tight hug.

Jemma returned it, almost crying when Daisy whispered, into her ear. Whispered words of relief that her friend wasn’t dead.

Words of relief that she wasn’t along in this world.

Words of relief that she didn’t have to do this alone.

Once they finally, eventually broke apart, pulling away from each other, Daisy took in her friend. She looked… she looked awful to put it bluntly.  Her skin was pale, and there was slight grey undertone to it, and her hair was limp and lifeless, dirt clinging to it that she mustn’t have been able to get out.

But all in all, Daisy supposed, she was looking as good as someone could be whose body had been dead for over and buried, and had also recently climbed out of the ground.

“Do you want something to eat?” Daisy offered. “I suppose you don’t have any money or anything.”

Jemma nodded. “Please.”

Daisy gave her a smile as they took their seats, in a booth. Once they had ordered, Jemma gave Daisy a quick run-down on everything that had happened to her since waking up in the coffin.

“So Ward was right…” Daisy whispered, causing what little colour there was to drain from Jemma’s face and her eyes to widen.

“Ward? He’s alive?”

Daisy nodded. “Yeah, yeah he is. In this world, Hydra… Hydra won.” Daisy had done her research on the flight over, wanting to know what exactly she was getting into. “Coulson… he never joined S.H.I.E.L.D. he’s a teacher. May… she’s head of Hydra. Ward… Ward was never killed.”

“And Fitz?” Jemma asked, wanting to know what had happened to the most important person to her.

Daisy shook her head. “He never joined. He worked…. His dad never walked out on him. They work together. I was… I was thinking. Maybe because he never joined S.H.I.E.L.D., and Ward… with him being Hydra… saw no reason to save you from the virus, and it… it killed you.” She saw Jemma’s eyes filling with tears and reached over across the table and took Jemma’s hands in her own. “I’m so sorry. For, for everything.”

Jemma removed one hand, so she could wipe away the tears and shook her head. “No, no it wasn’t… it’s not your fault. You don’t have to… This isn’t real. None of this is.” She brushed some hair out of her face, and Skye saw a massive bruise at her hairline, maybe where the virus had released. “This is just fake. What AIDA has… none of this is real.”

Daisy nodded, give her friend a reassuring smile. “Yeah, yeah none of this is real. And we’re going… we’re going to get them back.”

The corner of Jemma’s lips lifted at this. “So where is he? Fitz?”

Daisy let go of her hand and reached into her rucksack, removing the tablet and unlocking it before sliding it across the table. “There.”

She watched as Jemma tried to process all that was on the screen, trying to take in what she was seeing on screen. Her face scrunched up in confusion. “That can’t be him,” she whispered.

“It is,” Daisy said. “Trust me. I’ve contacted him.”

“You have? How?”

Daisy raised an eyebrow as if that was all that needed to be said. “Let’s just say he’s exactly like Tony Stark before Stark had a reality check.”

“Oh God,” Jemma whispered. And before she could say anything more, the waitress returned with their food, both of them starting to eat, knowing they had a fight ahead and that getting all the energy that they needed would be vital if they wanted to survive this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was so torn between the idea of Jemma clawing her way out of a coffin and also Jemma leading an underground resistance, but I went for option one for this one. Me, being the massive piece of trash that I am, will probably go back and write the other option a well. Thanks for all the love again, I love hearing your thoughts and I hope that you enjoyed.
> 
> Also, the next chapter will begin with Fitz's POV....


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter turned out completely differently than planned due to two people:  
> [Simmppaa](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Simmppaa/pseuds/Simmppaa)... you'll see for obvious reasons.  
> And [Stjarna](http://archiveofourown.org/users/stjarna/pseuds/stjarna), who I've just been discussing framework Fitz with and he didn't turn out as much of an asshole as I had planned... (also, read anything by Stjarna because it's beautiful and I love it and have re-read so much stuff).
> 
> Also shout out to [DaLiza](http://archiveofourown.org/users/DaLiza/pseuds/DaLiza) (who also has awesome stuff to check out, and is always there to help me when I make mistakes!) and [LaBouleMagique](http://archiveofourown.org/users/LaBouleMagique/pseuds/LaBouleMagique) who pointed out that I had a massive continity error with Chapter 1 and 2. I've fixed it now!
> 
> I've decided for this fic to differ Framework Fitz and our Fitz by calling him Leo if its referring to Framework Fitz, but Daisy and Jemma will refer to him as Fitz. Hope that clears anything up.

_He was screaming her name._

_Begging her not to do something._

_Pleading with her that it worked._

_That she would be okay._

_But she never listened._

_Or she couldn’t hear him._

_It was the second one._

_She couldn’t hear him._

_But she spun, giving him a brief moment of hope._

_She smiled. And he could see the pain laced in it._

_The sorrow._

_The regret._

_The love._

_Then she let the wind take her._

“Jemma!” he screamed, waking up, caught in the blankets, a layer of sweat covering him. It took him a moment to catch on to where he was. He was in bed, in his New York penthouse, not somewhere thousands of feet in the air.

And Jemma Simmons wasn’t with him.

She never had been.

Because he had never met her.

Because she had died over three years ago now.

An incurable alien virus.

Thrown herself from a plane.

Calming his breathing, he rubbed at his face and thought through all that had happened.

It had been a number of days since that reporter Daisy had called him, asking him about Jemma Simmons. And ever since then, every night since, he had been having dreams about Jemma.

The first night had been one of talking to her for the first time, being partnered up with her in some class.

The second had been memories of kisses dotted across his face, the rest of it just her screams and then nothingness.

And then it had been the one of her falling, of her dying maybe… he wasn’t sure. Because he had never seen her death, he hadn’t been there. But he had heard of it.

Most of the world, not just the scientific community, had. She had helped so much of the world, and the way that she had went… it wasn’t pretty. She had died before she hit the ocean, the virus having over whelmed her. Leo had thought at the time that it was the lesser of two evils, as when her body hit the water, the force of the impact had shattered most of her bones.

S.H.I.E.L.D., or Hydra, he wasn’t sure which, had somehow managed to retrieve her body. He wasn’t sure how, but they had.

He hadn’t attended the funeral either. Her family had requested a private one but he had donated to the fund that was set up in her name. He had every Christmas, as part of his charity pledge. But he had never met.

So he had no reason to be dreaming of her.

Rubbing at his face once again, he pushed back at the blankets, untangling himself from them, and climbed out of bed. He walked over to the window, and looked out over the New York city skyline.

He sighed, knowing that he had a busy day ahead of him.

***

They had somehow managed to get back to America, to New York this time. It had been difficult but they had got there. Somehow. But they were in America. They were alive and they were safe. They had had to use fake identification for Jemma, since being dead made using an original one hard (Daisy was using one of the many fakes that the Skye in this reality had).

Jemma had gotten a number of looks in the airport when they were checking in, someone even asking if she knew who Jemma Simmons was.

A brief look of panic had passed over Jemma’s face but Daisy had cut in, saying that she got it all the time. That it must have been the eyebrows. They were extremely similar after all.

And they had managed to get a hotel. Daisy had disposed of her phone now that she was with Jemma, there was no need for it. And it also prevented Ward from contacting her. Something that he had been trying to do. And something that she was ignoring. So it was nice to get rid of the phone.

The hotel was some cheap one, part of a chain. But they were safe in their room now. And had been for a number of days. They took turns in going to get food, neither wanting to show their faces in case the worst happened. Eventually, Daisy had to stay in the room, being unable to leave in case Ward, or Hydra, was looking for her.

“I found him,” Daisy said, one morning as Jemma returned to the hotel room. She pulled the hood down of her hoodie and her eyes seemed to light up.

“You have?”

Daisy returned the smile that Jemma gave, the excitement at finding the man she loved. Even though it was a different Fitz, Jemma had been confident she would help him remember. Daisy wasn’t sure though. She didn’t want Jemma to get her hopes up, only to have them dashed. Because, with how Jemma had been over the past couple of days, especially at night, she wasn’t sure if Jemma would be able to cope if the worst happened. “I have. He’s doing a gala for a children’s hospital. And I may have just gotten us two tickets to go.”

Jemma’s smile widened. “I suppose we need to go shopping.” Then she faltered. “Is it safe? For you to leave I mean.”

Daisy held up two outfits, one that was oh so familiar to Jemma. “Well…” she began, extending the word. “We’re lucky that next door has some, that just so happen to fit us.”

Jemma knew it was a coincidence, too good to be true but at this point, she didn’t care.

All she wanted to do was save them.

Her friends.

Her family.

The people that she loved.

***

It wasn’t that Leo hated boardroom meetings.

It was just something that he found extremely boring.

He never really paid attention.

They should be happy that he even attended.

And if he was going to be wholly honest, he could have just left it to those he hired to deal with the finances. They had degrees in that, they saved him back in 2011 when he nearly went under. They were better prepared to deal with whatever life threw at him.

He dealt with the engineering side of the business.

But they liked him here, having his input in his company. Which is why he attended.

“Dr. Fitz!” came a harsh voice.

He came out of his thoughts (that were definitely _not_ about Jemma Simmons), and looked at which ever important person that was shouting at him now.

It was Aida, head of HR for the company. She had a stern look on her face, and was staring at him. In fact, everyone in the room was staring at him, disapproving looks on their faces.

Well, everyone except Lance Hunter that was. His business partner, and partner in crime.

Slowly, he removed his feet from where he had put them up on the table, and placed the handful of pretzels back into the bag. He mumbled an apology, not that he needed to. It was his company. He could put his feet up on the table if he wanted to.

And eat pretzels. But no one else approved of it.

The main thing was, to him at least, that he was actually dressed that time. Not just wearing pyjamas.

“So,” he said, sitting up properly, and leaning forward. “What are we talking about?”

Aida just shook her head, muttering under her breath. “The charity gala tonight. For the children’s hospital.”

“Ahhhhh,” he said. “That.” He gave a smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t have a repeat of Budapest.”

***

“Are you sure about this?” Jemma asked, as Daisy was applying the finishing touches to her make up.

Daisy took a step back, admiring her work. She titled her head, before nodding, confirming that everything was fine. “Perfect. And yes, course it will. Weren’t you the one earlier who was so confident?”

Jemma nodded, now having felt the confidence leave her. She had been so confident earlier but as time passed and they got closer and closer to the gala, the anxieties had crept in. “I was.”

“Jemma, this will work. We will get them back and we will save them. Now…” She grabbed her clutch and the room keys to the hotel, throwing one to Jemma. “You ready?”

Jemma took a moment to look at herself in the mirror. She was wearing what was a replica of what she wore in Bucharest. Daisy was wearing a short dress of black lace. The hope had been that since what Jemma was wearing had been what she wore in such an important moment in their lives it would trigger something, anything.

Composing herself, Jemma turned back to face Daisy and nodded. “Yes. Let’s… let’s do this.”

Daisy linked her arm with Jemma, and together the two women left the hotel room.

***

Leo sat at the bar of the gala, a half empty glass of whiskey in front of him. He had said all that needed to be said, and now that he had a moment to himself.

Hunter had been up to him, offering to buy him more drinks but he had promised not just his father but the whole company that he wouldn’t have that much to drink tonight.

Not when there was so much at stake.

Not when there were so many eyes on him.

He couldn’t have a repeat of last time.

It wouldn’t look good.

It wouldn’t look good for the company either.

So he was on his best behaviour for tonight anyway.

And now that he was alone, that he didn’t have anything occupying his mind, it wandered back to Jemma Simmons again.

He hadn’t been able to get her of his mind ever since.

It wasn’t like he had some crush on her. Yes she was a beautiful and attractive woman.

But she was dead. She was dead and she was never coming back.

And if she were alive anyway, she would never date him. She had said, when she was alive, and on numerous occasions, that she disapproved of his actions, of how he behaved.

A small lingering voice in the back of his mind came to the forefront. It was one that he tried to ignore but never could, teasing him, saying that he changed after she died, that he became more charitable after that. A better person almost.

He tried to deny it, but it was true. Something about her death had shaken him, despite how much he tried to deny it.

Something about her death had changed him in a way that he didn’t know about. In a way that he didn’t know how.

So he acted cold about her, pushing her and any thoughts or mentions of her away because it was easier than dealing with whatever emotion lingered whenever she was mentioned.

“What can I get you?” the bartender asked.

It took him a moment to realise that the bartender was not talking to him. But to someone who had joined him at the bar.

“Love on the rocks please.”

There was something that was familiar about that accent. He looked up, turning his focus to her.

Feeling his gaze, and once the bartender had disappeared to get what was needed for her order, she spun to face him.

“Hi Fitz.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for checking out, next update might be a bit longer due to uni work and actual work this week. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and feel free to leave your thoughts here, or on my Instagram. ~~yes, I gave Jemma the Bucharest outfit, and love on the rocks is my fav cocktail as well~~


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back. After just stress. Here's another chapter. These are turning out much longer than expected. But thanks for all the love and support. I'm so glad you're enjoying this. Hope you enjoy this part!

He blinked once, twice, three times at the woman that was in front of him.

The woman who was supposed to be dead.

The woman he had been dreaming about for many days now.

“Hi…” he stuttered, at a loss for words. “Is… are you…”

She smiled. “Who do you think I am?”

“Jemma Simmons?” He phrased it almost as a question, as if wondering if this were real. If she were real.

“Is it the eyebrows?” she asked, her voice light, and airy, a laughter hidden underneath it. “People are always saying that,” she explained, once she saw that his face was a mask of confusion still. “God knows how many times I got asked that on the way over here.”

Before Leo could say anything, the bar tender returned, a glass in his hand. He passed it to her, who accepted it with thanks, and reached for her clutch when Leo shook his head.

“No… put it on my tab. Please.”

The bartender nodded, and walked off, seeing another customer that need to be served.

“So you’re not Jemma Simmons?” Leo asked, wanting to know what was going on. “Are you in with that journalist?”

She frowned, taking a sip of her drink through the straw. Her eyebrows were scrunched together. It was somewhat cute, and she looked as though she were trying to figure out a puzzle.

“Daisy Johnson.  She phoned me. A number of days ago. Asking me about you. Is this something you two have set up? Are you from some show or something? Am I being pranked? Is this revenge for something?”

The woman, maybe Jemma Simmons, maybe not Jemma Simmons rolled her eyes. “Ugh Fitz.” She finished off the drink, drinking it faster than he thought was possible. She stood up, fixing her jacket and adjusting her blouse. Then she held out her hand. “If you want to know. Follow… follow me.”

***

Lance Hunter was sitting in the corner, nursing another bottle of beer. He was scrolling through his phone, checking that everything went okay with the night when he noticed her.

Skye.

Grant Ward’s girlfriend.

It had taken him a moment to realise that it was her.

He had met them a number of times, it was hard not too.

They were Hydra’s leading agents and he had spent time was a mercenary in the past, even having taken out a number of contracts with them before his injury that prevented him from doing that anymore.

And now Skye was here.

At the gala.

Ward had texted him earlier that week, to say that something was off with her. That she had been asking about Jemma Simmons before disappearing altogether, hiding her tracks.

There had been worries that Skye had been compromised, brainwashed even, when she had been undercover at what remained of S.H.I.E.L.D and now she was trying to track down anyone else who remained.

But that still didn’t explain Jemma Simmons. Who had died over three years.

Jemma Simmons who didn't even exist.

Unless… Hunter thought it through.

Unless Skye was after Bobbi Morse, his ex-wife. Who had not only worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. but was one of Jemma’s closest friends.

One of the last people that had seen Jemma Simmons alive.

It was suspicious, nothing was adding up.

And it had Ward worried, something that Ward hardly ever was.

Worried.

Unless it was to do with Skye.

Skye was, and had always been, his one worry.

His one priority.

So he had texted Hunter, just to see if he had seen her, especially if Jemma and Bobbi were linked to her vanishing. He must have thought Skye would go to him, to try and find Bobbi. But to do that, Skye would have had to be pretty reckless. And stupid. Hunter had Hydra connections. Why would she go to him? But from what Ward had said, Skye didn’t seem to care about that anymore. She just seemed to want to know about Jemma Simmons. Or Bobbi Morse.

Not that he saw Bobbi anymore.

Heck, he didn’t even know if Bobbi was alive.

She had vanished when S.H.I.E.L.D. had fallen, choosing to side with them than jump ship to Hydra, like so many operatives had.

Opening his messages app, he started to reply to Ward, saying that he had seen Skye here, that she seemed okay.

She wasn’t injured or anything, just on edge, looking at everyone, casting glances when she looked up from her phone.

He was just about to hit send when there was another woman who walked past him.

Someone, who when she spun to face Leo, walking behind her, looked extraordinarily like Jemma Simmons.

And Skye was watching her.

This was just too much of a coincidence for him.

So he got up, and headed towards the door, intending on making a phone call.

***

When her and Jemma had got to the party, they had decided splitting up was the best option to trying to find Fitz. The gala was massive, and they only had limited time, not just here but in the Framework as a whole. Jemma had worked out that they had just under a month to get everyone out of the Framework and to safety, before their bodies started to give out. And that was before even starting to consider that the longer they stayed within the Framework they more damage that there would be done to their bodies.

But Jemma had found Fitz pretty quickly.

Of course she had.

So Daisy had taken a backseat, allowing Jemma to talk to him, because if there was anyone who could break Fitz out of this, it would be Jemma Simmons.

To pass the time, she had taken a phone from some guy’s pocket, not that he would miss it, or had even noticed it was gone. He was extremely intoxicated at this point. But the scrolling through social media and news sites was something that she was just doing to pass the time. There wasn’t much that was interesting; just something about that gala that Fitz was throwing, a dog that could water-ski and…

_Shit._

Something about Jemma.

Or more specifically, Jemma Simmons’ grave and the fact that it had been robbed.

_Shit. Shit. Shit. Fuck_.

This was not good. This was in no way good at all.

She read one article, then another, in an attempt to grasp just how bad the situation was.

Bad… it was an understatement.

The basis was that her grave had been robbed, that someone had destroyed it, and her parents… they were asking for any information about it. Asking about anything that could have happened to their only daughter. It made her feel sick. Daisy knew it wasn’t real. That nothing here was real. But still…

She knew she had to find Jemma, and the two of them had to get Fitz out of here. Then they could make a plan about what to do next.

She just had to find…

There she was, leading Fitz out of the gala, towards a back door. She was just about to get up herself and follow them when she saw Hunter.

Lance Hunter.

Someone she hadn’t seen in nearly a year now.

It was weird, seeing him like that.

It was weird seeing him altogether, but acting suspicious and twitchy.

And as though something were horribly wrong… it wasn’t right and made her stomach twist. She was also curious, curious as to why he was acting like this.

Seeing no harm in it, she followed him at a distance, to the reception. Hiding behind a pillar, she listened as he made the phone call.

“Ward? Yeah, yeah… Skye. She’s here. At the gala. Yeah, the one in New York. Are you sending a team? You might need to. Why?” A laugh then he continued. “Jemma Simmons is here. Alive. I know her grave was robbed.”

A longer pause this time. It was obvious that whoever was on the other end of the line, Ward it seemed, was talking.  Daisy felt her stomach twist. She knew she had to get out of there now, and to Jemma before… before anything happened.

But she stayed, frozen to the spot. And what Hunter said next terrified her. “So if I see Skye just shoot to hurt and Jemma… shoot to kill?”

Daisy ran.

She needed to find Jemma.

Now.

***

Leo watched her standing there, under the light of a thousand stars. There was something so achingly familiar about her, but at the same time, there wasn’t.

She was like a dream, something that was so vivid but so easily forgotten at the same time. Wisps of smoke that no matter how hard you tried to grab on to, they just evaporated through your fingers. So close but so far at the same time.

She was explaining everything, telling him that this life was a lie. That none of this was real.

He shook his head. “No. No, dad never walked out on me. Why would he?”

Jemma’s face, or the woman pretending to be Jemma suddenly turned sorrowful as if she knew something that he never. He wasn’t even sure if she really was Jemma, or just some woman, who had teamed up with Daisy Johnson, that he had upset in some way, maybe by forgetting to call her back, and this was her enacting her revenge. But that couldn’t be the case. Because he wouldn’t forget someone like her.

And she looked far too much like Jemma Simmons. He would have remembered her.

It wasn’t right.

It was uncanny.

It wasn’t human.

It was… it was…

Inhuman.

He took a few stumbling steps back, now realising just what was happening. Some Inhuman had taken Jemma Simmons’ personality, was using it against him to make a statement. Maybe to hurt him. Maybe to kill him but to definitely make a statement.

To show how powerful they were.

Because if they could hurt someone like him, someone who had always been very vocal about his hatred of them. The ones who believed they were better than humans, well… it could have devastating consequences.

“Stay away from me,” he said, continuing to back up, arms raised in front of him. She took one step forward but sensing his discomfort she stopped.

“Fitz?” she asked inquisitively but he shook his head.

“No, no you’re not Jemma Simmons. You’re… you’re one of _them._ ”

“One of what Fitz?”

“Don’t call me that. No one… no one calls me that.”

“Then what am I Leo? Who am I?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know who you are. But I know what you are. Inhuman.”

She shook her head and took another step forward. Something that caused him to panic more. Something that caused him to reach inside his jacket pocket and pull something out. A gun.

He pointed it at her, and Jemma felt her whole world drop out from under her. This was not how she wanted things to go. It was the complete opposite of how she wanted things to go. She tried to reassure herself that it wasn’t him. That it wasn’t him standing there pointing a weapon at her. But her mind wasn’t co-operating, soon everything was spinning out of control and she wasn’t seeing that anymore. No, she was seeing herself stabbing him again and again and again. Her hands covered in his blood. His eyes, going from soft and reassuring, full of the love that she had known for so long, full of the love that had made her fall in love with him, to being cold and dead inside. She felt his hands around her neck.

“Jemma!” screamed a voice.

She blinked and returned back to this world. Not the real world, but the Framework.

She saw Fitz spin, almost in slow motion and pull the trigger.

“Shit,” came Daisy’s voice as she rose once the bullet had sailed over her head. She raised her arms, showing she meant no harm. Then she took in Jemma, who was mirroring her pose but who was so very different also.

The biochemist was shaking, tears streaming down her face, leaving rivers of mascara behind. “Jemma, are you, are you okay?”

She took a step forward but stopped once Fitz tightened his grip on the gun. This was not the situation that she was expecting to walk into. But she had to deal with it. Jemma looked like she was about to go into a massive panic attack, and Daisy knew that that was the last thing they needed was, here and now. Not with Hydra coming. She had to deal with this. Now.

She closed her eyes, taking a number of deep breaths, remembering all the trained May had given her. And took a step forward, then another, closing the gap between her and Fitz. She swung her leg up and round, kicking the gun out of his hand. It took him a moment to figure out what had happened, and he tried to throw a punch at her, but it was obvious that this Fitz never had any trained in self-defence what so ever, as she grabbed his wrist before it even made contact with her and bend it back.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, hearing the sounds of sirens in the background, and the sound of doors slamming. It was obvious that Hydra had now turned up. They had less time than she had originally thought.

“For what,” Fitz replied, gritting his teeth through the pain, his wrist still bend at an awkward angle.

“This,” Daisy replied, and swung her other fist at his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've all the chapters planned, there should be 11 unless some get really long and I have to break them. Hope you enjoy and thanks for your support, I really love reading your comments.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters are turning out much longer than I am expecting but here is Chapter Five. Thanks for checking out, I hope that all you guys enjoy this one and thanks for all the support.

They had made it to some abandoned motel, a number of hours drive away from where the gala had taken place.

Daisy, with the help of Jemma (who had managed to calm herself slightly), had managed to stuff the unconscious Fitz in the back of the car. And then they drove. They drove and they drove and they drove. At one point, Jemma had fallen asleep with her head against the window, the radio playing softly in the background. Though she hadn’t slept as long as Daisy had hoped she would. She had woken after an hour, screaming and panting, the terrors of the night bleeding into the waking world. It had caused Daisy to jump, the car swerving slightly as she did so, but once she had regained her composure, she pulled the car over, and helped Jemma out into the early morning air, bitter cold against their skin.

And she had sat with Jemma, on long dead grass, her arms wrapped around the biochemist, rocking them back and forth and whispering murmurs of reassurance into her ear. Eventually, Jemma wiped away her tears, and stood up, reluctantly untangling herself from Daisy’s hold. “We need to go,” she said, pulling open the car door. “We can’t stay here. It’s too dangerous.”

Daisy watched as the door slammed close and Jemma curled up on the seat, staring ahead, tears still making their way down her face as she relived the horrors she had been through again and again and again. Daisy felt her heart tighten. Jemma had been through so much, the world constantly turning against her and kicking her down once she had managed to regain her footing. But unlike so many people, Jemma got back up every single time. No matter how many times she had been kicked down, no matter how violently she had been kicked down, she always got back up. She was so much stronger than anyone knew, than anyone would have thought. Most people would have given up by now, most people wouldn’t have gotten back up.

But not Jemma.

Never Jemma.

And Daisy admired her for it. She was so much stronger than she knew, so much stronger than she thought she was. So much stronger than she gave herself credit for. And Daisy only wished that Jemma could see it for herself.

Finally, Daisy stood up herself, and climbed back into the driver’s seat, turning on the engine again. She turned her head, wanting to say something to Jemma, but she had positioned herself away from the driver’s seat, staring out the window at the old country road they were on, taking in nothing in particular. Daisy’s heart tightened even more because she knew what Jemma was doing. She was carrying the burden of what happened to her, the weight of the world alone. Daisy couldn’t help but wonder just how much more Jemma could take.

But she never spoke aloud, she just continued driving.

***

The motel had been abandoned a number of years ago it seemed, but Daisy managed to hack her way into it (using a laptop she had stolen, something that had caused Jemma to panic when she did steal it, but things had all worked out okay in the end), making sure the security system wouldn’t pick them up but would pick up any unwanted guests.

And they had tied Fitz to a chair, making sure to check for any concealed weapons there may be on him. There wasn’t, but after the incident at the gala, they couldn’t be too careful.

Jemma had been hesitant about tying him up, saying that she didn’t want to hurt him, but had reluctantly agreed in the end once Daisy had said that it was the safest option for them.

Now it was just a waiting game, so Daisy made a run to the local convenience store to grab some food, making sure to lift the crackers that Jemma loved so much. By the time that she returned Fitz was just starting to come around.

“You’re back just in time,” Jemma said, from her position on the bed. “He’s just starting to wake up. And I think we’ve to be more careful.”

“Why?” Daisy asked, passing Jemma the food, who simply gestured to the laptop. _Shit_. Jemma was right. They had to be more careful. Their kidnapping had made the news, with the sources citing Jemma as an Inhuman who had taken on the persona of Jemma Simmons to get close enough to Leopold Fitz.

And there was also an interview with her parents, saying that whoever was responsible for this, to please stop. To stop making their daughter to be out like this, to not taint the memory of her like this.

Unable to read anymore, Daisy closed the article, but left the program she had started to build up and running. The program to try and track the origin of the Framework. Jemma frowned at her, confused as to what she was doing. Daisy shrugged. “It’s an issue we can worry about later.” Then she turned her attention to Fitz, who was now nearly awake. “First, Sleeping Beauty here.”

***

If there was one thing that Leopold Fitz was not expecting to awaken to, it was being tied to a chair, in some shady motel room, with the Inhuman who was calling themselves Jemma Simmons, and the woman who punched him. Daisy Johnson?

Anyway, that’s how he awoke. And the first thing that he did was panic, trying to break out of the restraints but the Duct Tape was something that he simply couldn’t break out of.

The Inhuman with Jemma’s face rolled her eyes, and Daisy Johnson just snorted with laughter as if this whole thing was some big joke. It was only then that he realised just how bad of a situation that he was in. He had been kidnapped.

By at least one Inhuman.

He swallowed hard, knowing that he had to be careful with what he said and what he did. There had been others that had been kidnapped by Inhumans, taken into similar hostage situations… No, he shook that thought from his mind.

He could talk his way out of this, he was a smooth talker, everyone said that he was.

“So Sleeping Beauty awakens,” Daisy (he was just going to call her that) said, smirking. “How are you feeling?”

He frowned at his, wondering why she was being nice to him. She had kicked his gun out of his hand a number of hours ago, nearly broke his wrist and punched him, presumably knocking him out (if the last number of hours where anything to go by). “Why are you asking?” he demanded.

The Inhuman rolled her eyes. “Oh Fitz,” she said. “We’re only helping you here. We’re your friends. We care about you. We love you.”

Daisy nodded in agreement. “Jemma’s right Fitz. This world, it isn’t real. It was created by Radcliffe. He kidnapped you, turned us all against each other. And AIDA…”

“Wait,” he interrupted. “Radcliffe? As in Holden Radcliffe?”

Daisy nodded. “The one and only.” Then under her breath, she muttered some words that Leo would never have used to describe him.

“He would never have done that.” Leo shook his head, trying once again to break free from his restraints but once again failing. “He’s helped to solve world hunger.”

Daisy turned to look at Jemma, who just shrugged as if to say what can you do about it. Then she stepped closer, and he panicked, trying to shuffle the chair backwards. “Stay away! I can… I can get you money. Whatever you need. Just… just let me go.”

Daisy laughed. “Not going to happen.”

He cursed under his breath. Hopefully Hunter or someone would be able to deal with this before Hydra got involved. Knowing Hydra, they would, especially since Inhumans were involved. So he tried a different approach, because as much as he hated the Inhumans, he didn’t want them dead like some people. “You have to let me go,” he tried. “Hydra, they’ll kill you.” He turned his attention to Jemma when he said this. “Trust me, you don’t want that.”

Jemma sighed. “I’ve already suffered at Hydra’s hands. I already know what they’re capable of.”

“This isn’t working,” Daisy interrupted. “Can I just punch him again?”

Jemma shook her head, turning to face the other woman. “No… I want to… I want to try something.”

Daisy took a step forward, taking Jemma’s hands in her own and giving them a reassuring squeeze. “I just… I don’t want you to get hurt here.”

Jemma nodded this time, understanding what her friend was saying, squeezing her hands back. “I know. I promise, Daisy, I can do this.”

Daisy brought her friend in for a hug. “I know you can.”

Then she let go and watched as Jemma turned and took a number of steps towards Fitz, who was trying to shuffle his chair backwards but failing to.

“Stay away!” he protested, almost falling backwards altogether but Jemma never once stopped, never once let his protests deter her from what she was going to go.

Once she was close enough, she released one of his arms from the restraints, taking his hand in her own. When she had offered him her hand at the gala, he hadn’t taken it so this was the first time they had made proper skin to skin contact within this reality, within this Framework.

And once she had interlocked his fingers with hers, something that was so familiar in their own world, she knelt down in front of him, bringing their interlaced hands up to rest close to her heart.

And that’s when it started. The electrifying feeling that ran up and down her nerves, exciting every aspect of her. She could tell that he felt it too. Could see what she was seeing too. His blue eyes were open wide and tears were streaming down his face, and she knew she was also probably crying when…

“No!” he called out, pulling his hand away. “No. It can’t be.”

She nodded. “Fitz that there is you. It’s me. It’s us.”

He shook his head. “No. No it can’t be.”

“It is. That’s our life. Part of what we’ve been through. It’s real. That’s the real world. That’s our home and if you want me to stop, I’ll stop but I’m not going back there without you. I’m not leaving here without you because… I can’t live without you Fitz.”

Then he did something that she wasn’t expecting; he took her hand back in his own, interlacing their fingers again, and bringing it up to place a dusting kiss on her knuckles before resting it against his own chest.

“That’s us?” he asked.

She nodded. “That’s us Fitz.”

She was crying even harder this time, seeing everything that he saw as he remembered everything. And not just of them, of his own life, of everything that he had been through.

She didn’t know how long they remained like that, until he stared at her, wide eyes in amazement. “Jems.”

She leaned back on her heels, crying and laughing, just in shock at everything that happened. “You remember?” she asked.

He nodded. “I remember. Everything. How could I forget?”

“It’s a long story,” Daisy said, hating to interrupt the moment. “And I’m sorry, we don’t have time for it now. We need to figure out where the source of the Framework is…”

“Where I am?” Fitz asked, “The real me?”

“Exactly,” Daisy said, unbinding his other arm. “I’ve a program running but I need your help.”

Fitz nodded, standing up, still hand in hand with Jemma. “I’ll get started in a moment.”

Daisy and Jemma were both about to ask why a moment, why not now. As it was Fitz they were talking about, of course he would want to start immediately but before either of them could say anything, Fitz wrapped him arms around Jemma’s waist and dropped her hand, pulling her in close.

He dipped his head, allowing his lips to meet hers. She gave a quick gasp of surprise but it wasn’t long before she allowed herself to return the kiss, losing herself in the moment. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer and never wanting to let him go, never wanting to lose him again.

Eventually, he pulled away, allowing his forehead to rest against hers and he lifted one hand, allowing his knuckles to grace her cheek gently, caressing it. “I love you Jems.”

She smiled, her eyes fluttering shut as he placed a kiss to her forehead. “I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And he remembers! I didn't want to wait any longer for this but look happy happy happy! Next chapter should be coming on Tuesday/Wednesday. Thanks for checking out and reading. Feel free to leave a comment, I love reading what you guys think!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could I be going out tonight? Yes, I could but I decided, nah, I can't be bothered. So you guys are stuck with me instead. This chapter was supposed to be in two parts but then I decided to combine them as I though there wasn't enough for two chapters, but it turned out pretty long. Hope you guys enjoy this one.

Daisy and Fitz were both working on tracking the source of the Framework together, with Jemma planning how they were going to get to where the rendezvous point was. Judging by what she had so far found on the Internet, it seemed that the location that they had decided on was empty. That was good news, some of the best that they had had so far. It had been a number of days since they had managed to make Fitz remember, and with the clock ticking, they had decided rather than try to find all the other members of their team, something that seemed like an impossible task, they were just going to find were Radcliffe and AIDA were keeping them and remove them from the Framework from within the real world.

But they hadn’t been successful so far, and it wasn’t only in the real world that time was ticking. It was in the Framework also, with Jemma now being one of the FBI’s most wanted, with a large bounty being placed on her by Hydra. She was wanted alive, but since she was so dangerous, being taken in dead was also an option that Hydra would accept. So she had been forbidden from leaving the hotel room.

As had Daisy and Fitz as things hadn’t been going too well for them either. Daisy was also wanted by Hydra, but was to be brought in alive, as Hydra wanted to question her about her association with the Inhumans, and also in connection with Leopold Fitz.

So they were all stuck in the hotel room, unable to leave as there were many organisations that wanted them.

And food supplies were starting to run low. Not that Jemma minded. She didn’t each much anyway, but Fitz and Daisy were starting to notice, making sure that she ate. Telling her that it wasn’t healthy, that she needed to take care of herself.

That they weren’t going to be able to escape if Jemma worked herself into a state of illness.  But other than that, they worked and they worked and they worked.

And eventually, after so many days, after so many attempts, they finally managed to get somewhere. They managed to find where the team was being held in the real world.

“You did it?” Jemma asked, once she had left the bathroom after her shower, hair still damp from the water.

Fitz nodded, watching as she reached around and tied it up into a loose ponytail before patting the bed beside him, beckoning her to join him.

She didn’t need him to ask twice, allowing herself to sit on the bed next to him, sinking into him, her head resting on his chest. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in close, and placed a kiss on her forehead.

“Where are you?” she asked as he repositioned the laptop so that she could see it. “Spain?”

“Just outside Madrid. Two hours drive, some abandoned warehouse.”

Jemam frowned, wondering why they had chosen that location but she kept the thoughts to herself, deciding not to question it, knowing that knowing where they where was good enough. Knowing that it meant they could finally leave this hell that they had been trapped in for so long now.

“So,” Daisy began, asking the question that they hadn’t yet got an answer to. “How are we getting to the rendezvous point.”

Fitz smiled at this. “I might have a way.”

***

They allowed Fitz to go back to his company, as much as it broke both him and Jemma to have to leave each other’s company again after all that had happened. But it had to be done if they wanted to be able to get to the rendezvous point. It had to be done.

But Fitz didn’t leave without promises of never leaving her again, never hurting her again. It was with one final goodbye kiss; long and tender and so full of love, that he finally had to leave. Jemma had tried to keep herself together, keep her emotions in check, but that didn’t seem to be the case. So Daisy pulled her into a hug, reassuring her that it would be okay, that Fitz’s plan would work.

Because, unlike them, Fitz had memories of both the real world and his Framework persona, something that he was going to use to his advantage. He was going to return to his company, as Leo and not Fitz, saying that he had managed to escape the Inhumans that had captured him (the black eye that Daisy had given him at the gala was slowly fading. She had offered to punch him again, to make everything much more convincing but Fitz had objected, saying he had been punched in the face more than enough times in his life), but wouldn’t be working, not for a while anyway. He was going to say after the experience that he had would be going away to one of his holiday homes for a while, to take the time away and relax, recover from the experience.

And that’s where Daisy and Jemma came in. Fitz was going to pay off the pilot of his private jet, give him a couple of million to keep what was going on a secret (he didn’t need the money anyway now, not since he knew that this reality was a lie) and they were going to fly to just outside the location of the area that Jemma had made as the back door, the exit point of the Framework. Then they were going to spend the next number of hours travelling there by car, just in case the worst came to the worst and they were tracked on the jet.

But now, now it was just a waiting game. It would take a number of hours before Fitz was able to get to them so they spent that time making the final preparation, and making sure that they were safe. Thankfully, they had since managed to change out of their outfits that they had been wearing during the gala, into some long-abandoned clothes they had found in the motel (though Fitz had said that he would be bringing something with him to change into that actually fitted them. But once those preparations were done, and they still had time to pass, they watched the press conference of Fitz returning to his company, Daisy finishing of the last of the popcorn.

“God,” she said, through a mouth full of the stuff. “He really was different here.”

Jemma nodded, watching the man that she loved flash back into the man that she didn’t know (and from what she had looked up on him, she was glad that she didn’t get to know him, and who he was in this world. Because it wasn’t him. It wasn’t her Fitz. He was so very different from the man she had fallen in love with when she was just sixteen).

“ _Dr. Fitz_ ,” came one of the female reporters on the screen. _“Is it true that the Inhuman who captured you pretended that she was Jemma Simmons to trick you?”_

Fitz paused, thinking this through for a moment then nodded. “ _Yes, yes she did._ ”

And that’s all he said to answer that question. He took a few more before taking his leave, the security team following close behind.

Daisy cast a look and Jemma, who was staring wide eyed at the screen. The press conference had now changed to some Hydra operative, who was talking about them, saying about how dangerous that they were. It was terrifying, just how much power and control Hydra had in this world.

“Jemma,” Daisy said. “Do you want… do you want to rest before Fitz gets here?” She never added her after though, about just how much Jemma needed her sleep because for the past number of days she hadn’t been sleeping properly, only sleeping for an hour at a time before some horror woke her. Fitz had been sleeping with her, trying to help her and coax her back to bed, but once she had awoken, she just remained up and went back to work.

Daisy was really starting to worry about her know because there was only so much more that she could take before her body gave out, from exhaustion, from not eating. From everything that she had been through.

Jemma turned to her friend, to the woman that she considered a sister at this point in her life. “No, no I’m fine. You should get some sleep. We have a lot ahead of us. You’re going to need all the rest that you can get.”

Daisy bit her lip nervously, but Jemma didn’t see, her attention turned back to the computer screen, reading more articles, about herself, about Fitz about what had happened. She was only hurting herself. Daisy was tempted to reach over and close the laptop but refrained from doing so. She didn’t want to upset Jemma any further. Because Jemma was hiding the hurt, burying it all. Daisy just hoped that once this was all over, her and Fitz would leave S.H.I.E.L.D., leave all this insane crap behind and get their happy ending, the happy ending they deserved more than anyone else.

“Wake me up in an hour,” Daisy decided on in the end, rolling over in the bed that her and Jemma had been lying on together watching the films, and closed her eyes.

***

Daisy let out a long low whistle once they boarded the private jet. It was unlike anything that she had ever seen in her life, plush leather sofas, a large screen television and areas to work. It was obvious that Framework Fitz lived a life of luxury.

“Do you have champagne?” she asked, wide eyes in amazement as she buckled her seatbelt for take-off.

Jemma just rolled her eyes, leaning into Fitz in the sofa they had chosen. Ever since they had found each other again, she had stayed as close to him as she could, constantly holding onto his hand, as if it were her tether to this world, showing her that it would be okay, that he was okay, that they were okay. “We can’t drink,” she offered by way explanation. “We’ve work to do.”

“C’mon,” Daisy pleaded. “This flight is going to take us a couple of hours, and anyway, we need something to relax. We deserve it.”

Jemma turned her attention to Fitz who shrugged. “I can get some for her if she wants some, you don’t have to have a glass if you don’t want to.”

“What type is it?” Jemma asked, her mind slowly processing the idea.

Fitz leaned in close, whispering the brand name in her ear. She was surprised at it. It wasn’t even something that he liked, though it was one of her favourites. “Did you get it for me coming?” she asked and he shook his head, only adding to the peculiarity of the whole thing.

“No, it’s the only thing stocked here.”

“Oh.”

In the end, they ended up sharing the bottle between them, and soon the conversation was flowing, laughter filling the jet. It was like nothing awful had happened. It was like how it had been in the days when they first became friends, back before the horrors of the world (and many others) had changed them. Changed them in a way that was not necessarily bad, but in a way that made them different from who they were at the beginning.

But it was nice, nice to get back to their roots, nice to be able to forget everything and have fun with friends, share laughs over drinks.

It was just nice to forget everything they had been through and focus on the positives of the world.

***

It was late afternoon when they landed in Scotland, at some private airfield and they found a car waiting for them. The alcohol had worn off and as they were exiting the plane, Fitz lifted the keys for the car but Daisy shook her head, holding out her hand.

“You and Jemma look like you’re about to collapse. It’s only a three-hour drive. You get some sleep. God knows that we’re going to need it.”

“What about you?” Fitz asked.

“I slept before the flight.” Because she had, and for longer than the hour she had informed Jemma off, because Jemma hadn’t woken her, saying that her sleep had been more important, and now looking back on it, Daisy was glad that Jemma let her sleep.

Fitz threw her the keys as they walked across the tarmac, and Daisy unlocked the doors, Jemma and Fitz climbing into the back.

It wasn’t long before Jemma was curled up asleep against Fitz, his arms wrapped around her, holding her, reassuring her, comforting her, and then he was asleep also. Daisy drove on, the only sounds in the car the music ebbing softly from the speakers, Fitz’s snoring and barely audible whimpers from Jemma.

And when the night terrors did wake her, Fitz was up straight away, reassuring her, comforting her, showing her that it was okay. And every time, unlike the previous number of days, Jemma fell back asleep again, seemingly holding onto Fitz’s shirt more and more each time.

Daisy couldn’t help but feel relieved that Jemma was sleeping, after so many days of not sleeping, after so many days of basically running on fumes, she was finally sleeping.

No conversation was had in the car, just silence, but in a sense, Daisy liked that. Because she was thinking, thinking about what was to happen, about what was coming next.

Thinking about how to save her friends.

***

When they pulled up in the driveway of the cottage, Fitz had awoken but Jemma was asleep, so he lifted her out of the car, bridal style in her arms.

“Why this one?” Daisy asked as she opened the front door.

Fitz, stepping over the threshold, let out a content sigh and a smile crept across his face. “It’s the one we were looking at. Even put a deposit down.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, we’re… we were going to leave S.H.I.E.L.D. after we found May.”

Daisy looked at him, her face a mask of shock. “You are?”

He nodded, trying to stop the guilt that crept into him every time he thought of leaving. “I know its selfish, what with the Watchdogs and everything…”

Daisy shook her head. “No. No its not. After everything you’ve been through, I’m surprised you never left earlier.”

Fitz just gave a sly smile. “We hadn’t found the perfect place.”

“Wait… So the apartment…”

“It’s temporary. The one we have, the one we want… It’s being refurbished. Should take a number of months.”

Daisy nodded, understanding everything.

***

Jemma awoke on the sofa, and the smell of pancakes came wafting in from the kitchen. Pulling herself into a sitting position, she stretched and made her way to the kitchen, were she found Daisy more than enjoying herself, and Fitz at the stove.

He spun upon hearing her footsteps, and smiled at her. She stepped into the kitchen, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him in for a kiss.

“Morning,” she whispered.

“Morning,” he replied, placing a kiss to her forehead.

“So,” Daisy said through a mouth full of food. “How do we get out of here?”

Jemma smiled, spinning in her boyfriend’s arms. “The backdoor.”

Daisy frowned. “I thought this was the backdoor, that when we came here we would leave.”

Jemma shook her head. “No, the backdoor. The _backdoor_.” She gestured to it with her head, and Daisy caught on, eyes widening in understanding.

“So what are we waiting for?” Fitz asked, “Let’s get out of here.”

Nobody could disagree with that, so grabbing the keys from the hook, he unlocked the door, pulling it open and stepping out into the back garden. Nothing happened.

“Maybe,” Daisy said. “Maybe you can’t use it, we hacked it, and programmed this. Maybe that has something to do with it. We’ve to pull you out ourselves. Right?”

Jemma didn’t nod and spoke slowly. “That could be it.” But Daisy didn’t seem to register that anything was wrong. She just stepped out into the early Scottish morning herself.

And again, nothing happened.

She swore in frustration, stepping in and out of the cottage in the hopes that something would happen but nothing did.

Meanwhile Jemma just waited in the kitchen, puzzling something out. Then she worked out what it was, why it wasn’t working.

And what they had to do to escape.

Swallowing hard, she spoke, answering an unspoken question.

“We’re going to have to die.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that ending sounds terrifying but trust me guys, I know what I'm doing, I know how its all going to play out. Thanks for checking out this chapter, and for all your support, I could never do it without all of you. You're amazing! The next chapter should be up within the next couple of days.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter is really really really dark as there are lots of discussion of death and sacrifice etc.
> 
> There is also mentions of panic attacks and anxiety at the beginning.
> 
> Thanks for all the support, hope you enjoy this one.

Daisy turned to her friend, staring at her in shock. Because Jemma had explicitly told her that if they died in this world, if they died within the Framework, then they died within their world, they died within reality.

“Jems,” Fitz asked, stepping back in the kitchen, his eyes focused on her. He could see her brain in action, working through and processing whatever it was that she was thinking. Her face had paled, what little colour there was left in it leaving her. And she looked as though she were about to collapse, swaying on her feet. “Jems, are you okay?”

“We’re going to have to die,” she repeated, this time firmer, as if there were no alternative than death. “We’re going to have to die.”

“Hey,” he said, taking more and more steps to her and helping her into a chair before she did collapse and injure herself. He took her wrists in his hands, rubbing reassuring circles onto their undersides like he had so often before. It was what calmed her down when the panic and the fear overwhelmed her, threatening to drown her. It was something that he had picked up on after so long in her company, getting used to what caused flare ups in her anxiety, and how best to deal with them.

But Jemma didn’t seem to notice, at least not yet. She was still muttering those six words, tears leaving tracks on her cheeks. It was at this point that Daisy had joined them, and saw the pain that her friend was in. It wasn’t the first time that she had seen Jemma in the midst of a panic attack, and she knew, she just knew after all that had happened, it wouldn’t be the last time either.

“Jemma,” she said. “It’s okay. We’re not going to have to die, we can do this without that. Maybe there’s just something wrong with the house. Maybe we just have to wait or something…”

Jemma shook her head, and after Fitz let go of one hand, used the sleeve of her jumper to wipe away at her tears. “We _have_ to die Daisy. There’s no other way out. The backdoor… it’s not working.” She took a shaking breath, composing herself. “It won’t work. It never worked for Fitz, it wasn’t programmed too. It was only programmed to get us out. I couldn’t… I couldn’t risk them waking up there. But us, it was coded to our DNA. The DNA that we have back in the real world. Where you have your powers,” she shook her head. “We didn’t account for the fact you might not be Inhuman here, and the fact that an alien virus might have killed me. The backdoor doesn’t recognise its us, because in a sense, it’s not.”

“Shit,” Daisy said, realising now just what was happening. “We’re going to have to die.” Jemma nodded, and she leaned against the counter to stay upright. Jemma was in fact right, they hadn’t considered just how different this world might be. And there was something worse, something that was even more terrifying about knowing that they had to die, it was how they were going to die. Because they didn’t know that. Not yet.

Before anyone could speak, they heard helicopter rotor blades nearby, and the sound of vehicles heading towards them.

Jemma looked up. “Hydra?”

Fitz reached into his pocket, letting go of her other wrist and stood up. He pulled out his phone, and the screen was all that he needed to see to realise just what was going on. His phone had been tracked. Someone must have thought that he was in trouble. But why would they… no one had seen them together except the pilot.

“Shit,” Fitz cursed, throwing his phone to the ground though it was now pointless. Hydra knew where they were. There was no use running, no use hiding.

“Hydra?” Daisy asked, wanting to know the answer to the question that Jemma had previously asked them.

Fitz nodded. “The pilot. Hydra must have offered him more than me. Bastard’s only gone and ratted us out.” He spun, wanting to see if Jemma was okay. Only to find that she has somehow sneaked out of the kitchen.

“Jemma?” he called out, as Daisy went over to the backdoor, closing it and then pulling the curtains closed over the window, hoping that it would buy them more time against Hydra even though the car in the driveway was evidence that they were in fact in the cottage. “Jeez,” he whispered once she came back in. “It’s Hydra.”

“I know,” she said, her voice low as if she knew something, if she was thinking something that they weren’t. She swallowed hard and it was then that Fitz realised something was off. That something was really wrong. It was the way she was holding her hands behind her back. “But I don’t… I don’t want them to be the reason why I die in here. I want… I want to choose how I die.”

“Jemma,” Fitz asked, panicking now. He could feel it rising within himself, threatening to pull him under. “What are you… what are you talking about?”

“Fitz, me and Daisy, we can’t stay here. Not much longer. Our bodies will give out and then… we need to leave now. It’s out best chance of saving you, of saving our team.” She removed her hands from behind her back, showing a gun that they had taken in case they needed to defend themselves. And she held it out to him.

He seemed to catch on to what was happening. And stepped back, shaking his head. He wasn’t going to accept it, to do what it was she was silently asking him to do. He couldn’t. He couldn’t do this to her. Because he had hurt her before. Daisy had explained everything about the LMD invasion, all that had happened on the base. Of how the LMD that had his face, his memories, everything except his heart and his love and his compassion, of how he, _it_ , had hurt Jemma. Of how it had stabbed her leg, hit her with a paint can then how Jemma had to stab it to destroy it. How that left her a nervous wreck, terrified of everything and everyone. How it had manipulated her in such a way that she couldn’t even trust herself.

He wasn’t going to do that again, he wasn’t going to put her through that again. He wasn’t going to hurt her now, not ever.

“No,” he said, refusing to do it. “No.”

She shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. Eyes that had once held so much life, so much wonder, excitement at all there was to come. Eyes which had lost so much after all she had seen, horrors and traumas that would never leave her, not really. “Please,” she begged. “I want… I want you to be the one to do it. No one else. I don’t want… I don’t want it to be Hydra. It can’t be Hydra.”

“It can’t be me either,” and he could hear the pain bleeding from his own voice, feeling tears making tracks down his own face. “I can’t hurt you Jems. Not again.”

“You won’t be,” she whispered. “This here, it’s not real.”

“But if you die here, you die in the real world.”

“Maybe not. The team, Elena, Piper, Davis, they’ll have seconds to pull us out, to save us. Fitz, they’ve trusted us in the past, and now we have to do the same. Because I do trust them with my life. I know they can do this. I know they can do this.”

Then she turned to Daisy. “Can you do this?”

Daisy nodded without hesitating. “Yes.” She was more than ready to get out of this fucked up reality. “What do you need me to do, as we don’t have much time. It seems Hydra have decided to join this party.”

Jemma took a breath. “Wait ten, fifteen minutes after me. That gives me time to wake up, then I can help us leave here.”

Daisy nodded, taking in Jemma’s word closely, listening to just how much faith she had in the team. And Daisy decided to share the faith that Jemma had in the team, because she was right. They had trusted Daisy, Jemma, Coulson so much before in the past, had followed them into so many missions that could have went wrong, that did go wrong, and not once did they stop having faith in their team. It was time to repay the favour. “Then to rescue the team?”

Jemma nodded. “Then to rescue the team.” She turned her attention back to Fitz, holding the gun out to him again. “Please Fitz. I trust… I trust you to do this.”

“But Jems,” he begged, not wanting to accept this but it seemed that this was what Jemma wanted. “I can’t… I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I don’t care. It doesn’t… it doesn’t matter. If it means I save you,” she shook her head, her brown hair cascading down around her face. “Please Fitz, we don’t have much time. Hydra, they’ll be here soon.”

Slowly, reluctantly and hating himself as he did it, he took the gun out of hands, and with one arm, wrapped it around her, pulling her closer. He placed the weapon to her stomach, and pulled the trigger once, twice, three times. He hated pulling the trigger no matter who it was, feeling the recoil in his hands. It always made him feel ill, caused his stomach to twist but when it was Jemma.

There wasn’t a word that could be used to describe how it felt. He felt her gasp, her body tense once the first bullet went in, and once he had pulled the trigger for the third time, she was barely able to stand, her legs giving out from under her.

“Hey,” he whispered, helping to lower her to the ground, pulling her into his lap, brushing back hair from her face. “Hey, you’re going to be okay. You’re going to do this, you’re going to save us.”

She nodded, though it was barely there, her body losing too much blood. It took everything for him not to place his hands on her abdomen and stop the bleeding so he settled on rocking her back and forth, hoping to make this easier for her.

She smiled up at him, meeting those soft blue eyes she loved so much and hating herself for the pain that resided in them. He smiled back, using one finger to brush away a tear of pain that was making its way down her face.

“Love you,” she whispered, her breath rattling in her chest as she tried to take in oxygen. Her breathing was slowing, her eyes fluttering shut as her body finally started to give up on her.

He placed a kiss to her forehead. “I love you too.”

And then she was gone, leaving it up to the team back on the Zephyr now.

Daisy knelt down behind him, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “It’s Jemma,” she said. “If anyone can do it, she can. You know her better than any of us, just how strong she is.”

He nodded, still crying. He knew that Daisy was trying to help but the words were just void and meaningless right now.

A heavy sigh from Daisy and he turned to look at her, wiping away her own tears. “We’re going to have to move. Hydra… they’re out there. I’ll let them take me.”

“How?” Fitz asked, voice breaking.

Daisy gave a small smile, even though it hurt so much. “I’ll take you hostage. They’re probably outside right now. I’ll let them kill me. Then we’ll come for you. It’ll be hours, a day at most then we’re going to get you, okay?”

He nodded.

“We need to go now.”

It was then that they footsteps were heard coming up the drive and Fitz nodded, casting one last glance at Jemma who looked so peaceful lying there, where nothing could hurt her anymore.

Daisy gave him another reassuring squeeze of the shoulder. “You’ve been through worse before and besides, once this whole shit show is done, you and Jemma can leave, and never have to worry about anything like this again.”

He nodded, knowing that was what he did want to do. Get out of S.H.I.E.L.D. forever, and never have to worry about anything like this again.

It was Daisy who rose first, going to the living room and lifting the blanket of the sofa, then placing it over Jemma, hiding her from the world.

“Thank you,” he whispered, accepting the hand that she was holding out.

Together, they made their way to the door, Daisy now in possession of the gun, having taken it and made some adjustments once Fitz had let it go to hold onto Jemma.

“You ready?” she asked, not wanting to force him into doing anything that he didn’t want.

“Yeah,” he replied, voice empty and hollow. Nothing could hurt him, not anymore, not after what he had just done. And then Daisy wrapped one arm around him, forcing him into a headlock and pressed the gun against his temple.

She kicked the door open and stepped out, and was met with a Hydra SWAT team.

Including Ward.

“Skye,” he said, voice low and mournful. It made her want to throw up. “What happened to you?”

She shrugged, not knowing what to say, then realising that it didn’t matter as she was going to die anyway, wake up in the real world and destroy this world. “This is the real me Ward. The real me.”

“What about Hydra? What about me? I thought you loved me.” She could hear the pain in his voice, and she was really trying hard now not to throw up.

She gave a bitter laugh at this. “I never loved you Ward. Jemma, she will always be important to me. She’s important to me and I love her.”

“Just… let him go and we’ll deal with this. Skye, this isn’t you speaking. This is S.H.I.E.L.D., this is that Inhuman. She’s brainwashed you.” He looked them up and down, saw the blood that was on their clothes. “And judging by that, you’ve taken care of her. See, you don’t love her. You’re stronger than her, than what’s controlling her. Just… just let Leo go.”

His attention soon turned to the engineer, who was still crying, and shaking. Ward must obviously have thought it was something to do with shock, at the hostage situation, and not at having to shoot Jemma. “Leo,” he said, voice soft and it was so sick hearing it like that after all that happened.

“Shut it,” Daisy interrupted and fired a warning shot into the air once Ward took a step forward. He lifted his hands, and backed away, not wanting anyone to get hurt in his.

Daisy pushed the gun harder against his temple. “Anyone here comes a step closer and Fitzy here gets the next bullet.”

Everyone seemed slightly uncomfortable at this, and it was obvious that Daisy had control of the area.

“Skye,” Ward tried again. “We don’t want to hurt you. We just want Leo alive and safe and talk to you…”

Daisy gave a wicked smile and put her finger on the trigger. There wasn’t even a bullet in it, they had made sure to check there was only one bullet in it after Fitz had shot Jemma, the one bullet being used as a warning shot and now it was gone so she could pull the trigger without consequence.

Something that terrified Hydra, who all pointed their weapons at her now but it wasn’t any of them who shot her.

No, it was Lance Hunter who put the bullet through the brain of Daisy Johnson. He couldn’t lose Leo, not after all they’d been through.

Daisy dropped instantly, freeing Fitz who stood up, catching his breath.

“You okay?” Hunter asked him, shooting nervous looks between him and Ward.

Fitz, looking at the body of Daisy then back at the cottage, knew he had to lie. Just until they could rescue him and pull him out of his hell. “Yeah, yeah, I’m okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry. That scene is based on one from Dollhouse, in The Attic episode, another Whedon creation.  
> Don't worry, trust me, I have this all worked out. Thanks for checking out, I hope this wasn't too dark for you. Feel free to leave your thoughts as to what you think may happen or check me out on Instagram; agentsofsuperwholocked


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would once again like to say sorry for the last chapter. Thanks so much for all your support, I couldn't do it without you!

In the time that had passed since Daisy and Jemma had entered the Framework, nothing good happened, but nothing bad happened either, which the team was seeing as a positive. It was horrible, waiting on this side of the Famework, knowing they could do nothing. The could just wait. Wait and see if Daisy and Jemma could bring back their team, their family.

They were, however, trying to find where the Framework origins where coming from on this side, but none of them were getting anyway, not having the same expertise that Daisy did when it came to programming.

So they spent their time, just trying as best they could, in the silence of the Zephyr so when the alarms start to blare one morning, it caused panic.

Davis, the agent who had been on duty, checked the vitals of Daisy, which seemed fine for the moment, but when he checked Jemma’s, something was wrong.

They were dropping, slowly, but surely. They were dropping.

She was dying.

It was at that point Elena and Piper came rushing in, wanting to see what the alarm was and upon seeing the screen, they went into action, getting ready to pull Jemma out. But it was taking too long, her breathing growing fainter and fainter, and then she flatlined, her body having given out completely.

“Now!” Elena screamed, the final piece of coding having gone through, and prayed that it wasn’t too late for Jemma, hoping that she would be okay.

Piper removed the headpiece and one moment passed, then another. Still no movement from Jemma, her body lying there, limb and motionless.

Piper turned to face Elena, shock and horror plastered across both faces.

“It’s my fault,” Davis whispered, shaking his head. “I never noticed… It’s my fault.”

Elena shook her head, knowing that placing blame wasn’t going to help in this situation. “It’s no one’s fault. They knew the risk going in.”

“We can’t call it,” Piper said, casting another glance at Jemma. “We can’t… What about…” She couldn’t finish her thought. It was too much to even being to consider.

“We have to,” Davis said, disagreeing with the other agent but not wanting to. He had Jemma’s wrist in her hand, checking for a pulse but there was nothing there. “It’s… It’s too late.”

Elena nodded, making the hard decision because it was just them left. No one else. Just them. “We’re going to have to contact her parents.”

No one answered this, or spoke because they knew just how big an impact this would have. Just how serious this was.

“I’ll do it,” Piper said, and she went to leave the room, when there was a noise. One small noise but to them, it meant everything. It was a blip of the heart monitor. Piper froze in the doorway, and spun, turning back to face them.

Davis and Elena also turned to see what was happening.

And there it was again, another blip of the heart monitor, then another, getting stronger and stronger.

“She’s fighting,” Davis whispered in shock, unable to believe what he was seeing. Jemma Simmons was fighting her way back from the dead.

Shaking off the initial shock, Elena knew they had to do something to help, to make sure that Jemma came back alive and not dead, that this was actually happening and not just… they had to make sure this was real. But what was there to do? They had disconnected her from the Framework, and Jemma had to do the rest of the work herself. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t be prepared for when she woke up.

“Medical,” Elena breathed. “Medical. What supplies are here?”

Both Davis and Elena shrugged. There hadn’t been much time to stock up.

“We don’t know,” Piper elaborated, still frozen in shock at seeing Jemma lying there, with the heart monitor now settling into something that very nearly resembled one of a living person. Jemma herself seemed to be trying to breathe, her breath coming in ragged gasps, her back occasionally arcing. “I can check.”

Elena nodded, who was now standing beside Jemma and murmuring soft reassurances in her ear, running a reassuring hand through her hair. “Please, just bring what you can; blankets, bandages, medicine.”

Piper nodded her understanding and hurried out of the room and towards the medical bay, hoping and praying that she wasn’t too late.

And it was just after Piper left the room that Jemma shot up, shaking and choking on oxygen.

A collective breath of relief was released throughout the room and seeing the agent alive.

“Jemma,” Elena asked, wanting to make sure Jemma was okay but Jemma didn’t seem to hear her; she was already trying to remove herself from where she had been lying, swinging her legs over the edge but the Inhuman stopped her.  “Jemma, you aren’t strong enough. Not yet.”

Jemma shook her head as if there were no other answer and muttered something under her breath about Daisy and having to get ready for Daisy coming out of the Framework.

“Daisy?” Davis asked. “She’s coming?”

Jemma’s head shot round to face him. He took in her complexion, there was little colour in it, heavy black bags clinging to the underneath of her eyes. “She’s going to die. We had to… we had to die to escape the Framework. I have to be here for her. I have to be here.”

“Do we need to disconnect her?” Elena gently cupped Jemma’s cheek in her hand, tilting her head so she could look the biochemist in the eye. And there was something about there, something frantic, something manic, laced with an undertone of pain.

“Please,” Jemma begged, and that was all that was needed for Davis to get back to work at the computer, this time disconnecting Daisy from the Framework.

One moment passed, then another before Daisy’s heart monitor flatlined instantly.

It was only a fraction of a second later that she shot up, trying to take in oxygen, chocking and coughing, the headpiece shattering to the floor.

“Daisy,” Jemma breathed, unable to believe it. They had done the impossible. And without thinking, she went to stand up, but her leg buckled instantly underneath her, and she gave a cry of pain, one that tore through the hearts of her teammates.

And it was that that alerted Daisy to what was going on, to her surroundings. It wasn’t long before Daisy was on the ground with Jemma, wrapping her friend in her arms and pulling her close.

“Hey,” Daisy whispered rocking the both of them back and forth. “Hey, you did it. You were right. We got out. We escaped. And we know where the team is, we can go and get them Jemma. We can go and rescue our team.”

Jemma nodded into her shoulder, teams soaking through the fabric of her top. “We did it.” There was an air of disbelief about the way she had said it, as if it had yet to fully sink in.

“We did,” Daisy confirmed. “We did it. But you, how’s your leg?”

She tried to pull back, to see if Jemma’s leg was okay but Jemma refused to let go of her, holding on for as long as she could. So Daisy returned the hug, granting Jemma’s wishes because what Jemma had been through the past number of days… No one deserved to go through that, especially not someone like Jemma. She had been through so much in such a short space of time, lost so much and once upon a time, Jemma wouldn’t have done this. She wouldn’t have sought human comfort, she wouldn’t have craved it as she was now carving it. She was allowing people in, allowing people to help her while she fought the demons that occupied her mind. She was allowing people to help her to heal, she was seeing that this was a battle that she didn’t have to fight alone. And for that, Daisy was more than thankful. For so long Jemma had tried to fight this battle alone, and now she was seeing she wasn’t alone, and that asking for help wasn’t a weakness.

Daisy just wished that Jemma didn’t have to fight this battle in the first place.

“Jem,” she whispered into her ear. “We’re going to need to check your leg.”

Jemma nodded, never letting go of Daisy’s grip as she readjusted herself, if anything, she tightened her grip.

It was at this point that Piper returned with the medical supplies, and without even needing to be asked, she knelt down with Jemma and Daisy. Davis joined her, while Elena watched from the background. The two field agents had little medical training, no-where near what Jemma had but it was enough to deal with the situation.

“Jemma,” Piper said, her voice soft and gentle and it caused Jemma to remove her head from where it had been buried in Daisy’s shoulder. “I’m going to need to examine your leg, okay. But tell me if it hurts. And I’ll stop.”

Jemma looked like she wanted to say something, and behind the fog in her eyes, Piper could tell that she was trying to get into doctor mode, but nothing was happening, and in the end, Jemma just nodded.

Cautiously, Piper reached out to examine the wound, and as soon as her fingers graced it. Jemma flinched back, letting out another cry of pain. It was tender, and more painful than the initial injury had been.

“Jemma,” Davis said, knowing just what Jemma would want to hear in the moment. Science. Science, something that she always sought comfort in. “You know you’re going to need surgery for that. Damaged muscles, tendons, nerves.”

Slowly, Jemma nodded. She had always known that it would come down to that. An injury like that one she had would not come without its consequences. “I just hoped…” she said, words failing her.

Daisy gave her a reassuring squeeze. “You’re going to be fine.”

“The mission,” Jemma said, her attention turning back to the real reason why they were here. “We need to go.”

Daisy shook her head. “Jemma, you can’t. It’s too… it’s too dangerous. You’re injured.”

“So are you!” she cried back, speaking of the bullets that had once resided in Daisy. “You can’t go.” _I can’t lose you_ , were the words that went unspoken.

“I’m going to be okay Jemma. I’m going to get them back and I’m going to destroy the Framework. And I’m going to get Fitz back.”

Jemma nodded, tears once again staining her face. Daisy just pulled her into an even tighter hug and Jemma somehow managed to tighten her death grip on the Inhuman, burying her face in Daisy’s chest.

Daisy placed a kiss on the top of Jemma’s head. “I’m going to get Fitz back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slightly shorter chapter this time. Overall, there's only two chapters left, and should be up before the 4th of April, but since I am kinda stupid, I booked a holiday when I've an essay deadline, so I've to focus more on that as I've to get it done a week before everyone else now... yay(!)  
> Feel free to leave your thoughts and thanks again!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I wasn't going to update but I wanted this done for the end of the hiatus.
> 
> Warning: death.

It had taken the combined effort of Piper and Elena to get Jemma to medical, Daisy unable to help support her friend. Her shoulder was still sore, it hurt, having a number of bullets in the muscle tended to do that to a person. But she was okay for the mission, despite Jemma’s protests. She knew in a sense that Jemma was right, but she had to do this, she had to save her team, her family.

But she was also worried about Jemma, about how she was coping with all that she had been through. She was hurting, and Daisy just hoped that she didn’t keep the pain buried with everything else that she was carrying.

Once settled on the bed, the bandages on her leg changed, and the wound cleaned, Jemma forced Daisy to let her own injuries be examined. Daisy agreed, knowing that it would provide Jemma with the reassurance that she needed.

“You’re fine,” Jemma whispered, her fingers grazing over the wound, a hint to jealously laced in her. Then, “Do you have your gauntlets?”

“Shit,” Daisy cursed. “I couldn’t… I never had time to get them…”

“I think I can help.” It was Piper who spoke up from the doorframe, where she was leaning against it. Her hands were now clean, the blood of Jemma no longer coating them. “Follow me.”

Daisy cast Jemma a glance, who nodded, then started following the other agent to the weapons storage. She opened it, and pulled open a drawer and removed.

“My gauntlets!” Daisy said, more than a bit excited. “I never knew they were here.”

Piper smiled as Daisy slid them on. “It was Fitz’s idea. He said that we should keep spares here and the QuinJets, in case anything… happened. Turns out he was right.”

“I’ll make sure to say thanks,” she said. “So you ready?”

***

They returned to the medical bay, having found that Davis, Elena and Jemma had set up the communications station, along with the other handful of agents they had managed to save.

“So who’s going?” Elena asked. “We can’t leave Jemma alone.”

“I’ll be fine,” Jemma tried to protest but Daisy shook her head.

“No, we’re not leaving you. We need someone here with you.”

“I’ll stay,” Davis said, speaking up. “I have the most experience with flying. I can get us away if needed.”

Daisy nodded, understanding. She turned to face the others who had gathered there, most of them already ready for the mission. They had been stuck here for so long, with little to do that she could tell that most of them were itching for something to do. And now was their time.

And it was also Daisy’s time.

Coulson had once said she would make a great leader, a great Director and now was her chance to live up to his expectations. To show that she was in fact someone who could lead. And she had to inspire these agents, her team. They were looking up to her, she was their leader.

And they were going to do this. They were going to get May, Coulson, Mace, Mack and Fitz back. Even if she had to tear the warehouse where they were down and pull them out one by one. She was going to rescue them.

But she was still nervous, still apprehensive but that was only human. It didn’t, however, stop her from casting a glance at Jemma, who smiled that smile. The smile that lit up a thousand rooms and burnt brighter than the sun. It was the smile that told her she could do anything. That she would be able to do anything. And once she gave a reassuring nod, Daisy turned back to her team, plan already formed.

They were going to do this.

***

“They’re here,” Daisy breathed upon entering the room.

Mack.

Mace.

Coulson.

May.

Fitz.

And Radcliffe.

He had been plugged into the Framework, ghoulish rivers of blood on his arms.

He was dead. Or close enough to it.

A sob of relief was in her ear not a moment later, Jemma overwhelmed with emotions. “Is he….”

Daisy made her way across the room, silent. “They all are… Except Radcliffe.”

“He’s plugged in?”

“Yeah, but dead…”

“Leave him.” The venom was evident in Jemma’s tone.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Daisy agreed, somewhat reluctantly. She had only heard Jemma like this once, when she threatened to kill Ward.

Leaving Radcliffe’s body here meant it would be destroyed by the warehouse, once Daisy brought it down after the team had been saved.

Maybe he didn’t deserve better.

“Mack,” Elena breathed, rushing over to see him. She placed tender butterfly over his face, muttering reassurances in Spanish to him.

“Shall we?” Piper asked from her position at the door. Checking that there was no one coming. Because it had been quiet so far. Too quiet. They hadn’t seen AIDA. Not yet.

But they knew she would be here. Waiting for them.

“Yeah,” but she was already half way across the room, plugging the pen drive into the computer, with the coding that would allow everyone to be safely removed without them having to die. “Ten minutes,” she said, wondering back to see the team.

They all looked so peaceful here, in the real world. She couldn’t help but wonder what life had been like for the over there, what it had been truly like.

And what she could possibly be pulling them from.

But that didn’t matter.

Not really.

That world wasn’t real, it was fake.

A world that would eventually kill them.

“How much longer?” Elena asked after a period of silence, her hand how holding Mack’s.

Daisy made her way back across the room again, staring at the monitor. Ten seconds.

“Five, four, three, two, one,” she whispered. “Now.”

But they didn’t need to do that much work with Mack, Coulson and Fitz, all of whom had been in relatively good health when they entered the Framework, all woke with a gasp.

“Yo-Yo?” Mack asked, and Elena laughed, removing the headpiece as he rolled his neck after not using the muscles in it for so long.

“Mack,” she breathed, cupping the back of his head, and allowing him to kiss her. “Do you remember anything?”

He shrugged. “Vague memories, it was like a dream. Hope… Hope was there.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

“I should have known,” he whispered, trying to stop himself from crying. “I should have known it was fake.”

“No,” Elena reassured. “You weren’t to know. And I’ll be here, whatever you need.”

“Thank you.”

“Jemma,” Fitz’s panic-stricken voice cut through the room, realising that someone was missing. “Where is she?”

“She’s alive,” Daisy was quick to respond. “She’s alive but injured. She’s back on Zephyr.”

“Injured? What happened?”

“Now isn’t the time,” Daisy replied, now noticing the pain and hurt that both May and Mace were in. “I’ll tell you later. Just… just help me get them out of here and we’ll explain anything.”

“Wait…” Mack said, now realising something. “How do we know you’re not LMDs.”

Daisy sighed, knowing she had no time to do this, but raised one arm, and smashed a distant chair. Elena also showed of her powers. “Everyone with us is human. Trust me. We’ve checked.”

“Who’s we?”

“Me, Jemma, Elena, Piper and Davis. A few others. There were… it’s not pretty.” Upon saying this, she turned her attention to May, helping Coulson and swinging the woman’s other arm around her own shoulders, ignoring the way of pain that overcame her and threatened to send her to the floor.

“Mack,” Daisy said. “You okay taking Mace?”

Mack nodded, helping Fitz support the semi-conscious Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. “Where to?”

“First left, Piper knows the way.”

So they followed the agent, and didn’t make it far when they finally came across AIDA.

And the Superior.

***

“Leopold,” she said, her voice sickly sweet. “What are you doing out here?”

“Leaving,” he spat, as if there were any other answer.

AIDA cocked her head, as if confused as if to why anyone would want to leave. “But it was a perfect world, a life without regrets. Isn’t that what you want?”

“A life without Jemma, that’s a life that I don’t want.” He readjusted Mace’s arm as the man tried to pull himself away. “And I need to get back to her.”

AIDA frowned, seemingly displeased with this. “I knew I should have killed her earlier.”

Fitz felt his skin go cold. “Killed her.”

“She would always have intervened with this. Removed you from the Framework. Why do you think that I programmed her dead? She would have always have ruined this!”

Fitz’s eyes darted to the side, seeing a slight movement from the corner of them. Elena. She was scouting the area, she had to be. Trying to find a weapon, something to take down AIDA with. All he had to do was keep her talking.

And that wouldn’t be too hard. She had them cornered pretty much, Coulson and Daisy were in front of them, supporting a half dead May, with him and Mack holding onto a one Jeffery Mace who wanted nothing more than to be released from their hold with Piper and the other agents taking up the rear and the front.

“No,” he said. “That’s not want I want in life. Something that’s not real, it’s not human AIDA. Our bodies, everything we feel, everything we experience is what makes us human. What makes us different from you.”

But apparently, that was not the best words to say as her face warped into a mask of hatred. “You think I’m not human.”

It was Coulson who shook his head. “You’re not Agnes, and you never can be.”

Fitz nodded urgently, agreeing. “And that’s not a bad thing. You’re you. You have your own thoughts, your own memories. That’s what makes you you.” He gave a small reassuring smile but AIDA never got a chance to reply. Chaos soon erupted.

Elena had returned, a twisted piece of metal in her hands, and drove it through the middle of the android, crippling her. Mace, finally broke free from the grasp of Mack and Fitz, tackling the Superior to the ground.

In the heat of the moment, and taken back by the surprise of it, he managed to pin the Superior down. “Go!” he shouted.

“What?” Fitz asked, horrified and not wanting to leave him behind. “We can’t leave you. You’ll die!”

“I’m already dying. Please. If I’m going to die, let it be as the hero that the world thinks I am.” He turned to Daisy, looking up. “You know what to do.”

Daisy turned to Coulson. “What…”

“Jeffery,” Coulson began, meeting the eyes of the man he had grown to know as a friend. “Are you sure?”

Mace nodded. “I am.”

Coulson took in a breath. “Let’s go.”

And despite some minor protests, the team left the warehouse, Daisy bringing it down behind them.

***

Jemma knew the team where back, Daisy had told her through the comms. She also knew that Mace wasn’t coming back and couldn’t help but shed a tear for him.

May was her main worry, being on the brink of death but Piper and Davis had taken over medical duties, being in a better condition than her to do it.

And once Davis had left nearly half an hour ago, she hadn’t seen or heard from anyone.

Not that it mattered, there was only one person that she wanted to see, wanted to talk to, wanted to be with.

Fitz.

So when she heard running footsteps down the corridor, she couldn’t help but get more than bit excited.

And she was right.

Fitz was there.

Fitz was coming.

He stood in the doorway for a moment, taking her in. Taking her condition in but that didn’t matter because she was alive.

She was alive and she was lying there.

“Jems.”

His voice was a low and soft whisper and his voice was close to breaking.

“Fitz,” she said back, sobs an undertone to her voice.

He made his way into the room, sitting on the bed and she threw her arms around him, pulling him in tight.

She allowed herself to feel the cotton of his cardigan beneath her fingertips, breath in the scent of his aftershave and his sweat as she cried into his shoulder.

She allowed herself to register the tickle of his stubble as it grazed her cheek as he moved his head and the softness of his voice as he whispered in her ear.

After a moment of time, just allowing herself to be there, allowing herself to register him, she nodded into his chest. “Yes.”

“Yes what?” he asked, unsure of the question that she was answering. Maybe she was just confirming to herself that this was real, that this was him. He wasn’t surprised. Not after all she went through. Daisy had debriefed him while he was being checked by medical, as his memories from the Framework were vague and hazy, not remembering much. Daisy had warned him not to overwhelm her, that she was still coming to terms with it. But she was here and she was alive. And that’s all that mattered.

“Yes.” She repeated the three-lettered word again and again and again. “Yes Fitz.”

He took her head gently in his hand, tilting her head up to face him. “Yes what Jems?”

“You wanted to marry me. I’m telling you my answer. Yes.” She faltered. “But only if you want to.”

He smiled, bringing her in for a long tender kiss. One full of hopes and promises for the future.

“Jemma Anne Simmons, I will marry you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And only one more chapter which will be up either Friday or Saturday once I return home from work. Thanks for checking out and I hope you enjoyed. Feel free to leave your thoughts below!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are, on the last chapter. Thanks so much for all the support, and for sticking around. Hope you enjoy this last part!

**_5 Years Later_ **

They had left S.H.I.E.L.D., both of them immediately handing in their resignations as soon as they could. Coulson had regained control over the organisation following Mace’s death. And he had accepted them without question, completely understanding what they wanted. They had deserved it after all they had suffered.

But they hadn’t been able to leave base, not until Jemma had had surgery, attempting to fix the tendons and muscles in her legs. The medics had done their best, and physical therapy had allowed her to gain near full control over it again, but the numbness still lingered sometimes, especially when she stood on it for extended periods of time.

But she was alive, Fitz was alive and they were safe. And that’s all that mattered. They were alive and they were safe.

Once Jemma had been discharged from medical, the cottage that they had put a deposit down on in Perthshire was ready for them to move in to. And that’s where they went. The two of them happier than they had been for so long now. They had already started their wedding planning, spending all their time together picking flowers and what their wedding menu would be. And although they had disagreements, such as over what flowers should be used (Fitz wanted tulips and Jemma wanted daisies, in the end, they decided on a bouquet of both), they didn’t care, the minor disagreements being solved with ease.

But that was nearly five years ago.

Now, now Jemma was standing on the patio in their garden, the sun beating down on her. She smiled, watching as her daughter, Peggy Violet FitzSimmons ran around, barefoot, on the dew-covered grass.

She was laughing, living life to the fullest, not knowing the horrors that had happened to her parents. The horrors that still lingered, haunted their nightmares, that made both Jemma and Fitz wake up in a cold sweat. Peggy didn’t know, Jemma never wanted her to know, something that Fitz fully agreed with.

But Peggy was having fun, running with their Skye terrier, name Monkey (on Fitz’s request) and Jemma allowed a smile to cross her face when she felt arms wrap around her waist and her bump.

She leaned back, closing her eyes and allowed herself to feel the gentle pressure of his lips against her the top of her head. “You okay?” he whispered.

“Yeah,” she breathed. “Yeah.” A pause. “Skye’s kicking though.”

He waited a moment, then smiled himself, feeling the tiny butterfly kicks under his hands. “She’s going to be a greater footballer,” Fitz joked and Jemma rolled her eyes.

“Ugh Fitz,” she said, turning to face him.

“What?” he asked, a smirk gracing his face, but he tilted her head and allowed his lips to dance across his, slow, tender and full of love when…

“Daddy!” came Peggy’s cries, upon realising that her father was there. She ran back across the garden and towards her dad. He picked her up, swinging her around. Peggy gave a laugh of delight, pressing a kiss to her father’s cheek. “Can we play on the swing?”

Fitz smiled at his daughter, then nodded. “Of course, why wouldn’t we?”

And headed of across the garden, his daughter still in his arms.

Jemma watched as Fitz helped their three-year-old onto the swing attached to the old oak tree in their garden.

She smiled, watching as Monkey ran around Fitz’s ankles and Peggy squealing in delight as Fitz pushed her higher and higher.

So many years ago, she never thought this, her happy ending would happen.

But she had gotten it.

It had happened.

And she wouldn’t change a thing about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And its done. I can't believe its done. Five and a half weeks of work. There were points when you probably hated me *cough*chapter 7*cough*, there were times you probably loved me. But its done. And just in time for 4x16. Thank you guys, I could never have done this without you. You are the best. 
> 
>  

**Author's Note:**

> I just like the idea that Fitz is like the Scottish Iron Man in this (do I want a womaniser Iain acting all cocky and like everyone loves him in the next pod. Yes. Because its so unlike Fitz and it would be the greatest thing since sliced bread). Thanks for checking out, I hope you enjoyed. Feel free to leave your thoughts about this, or the ep or stalk me on Instagram; agentsofsuperwholocked.


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